News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-11-10
WHALING IN THE POLAR SEA.
Perils Encountered by the Norwe-
gians in Capturing the Levi
athan.
From the Minneapolis Journal. I

ltrom the Minneapolis Journal
Every summer the Polar Sea, off the
coast OF Finmarken, Norway, is alive
with whales and their ehasers. The
principal game of the Norwegian
whalers Is the great blue whale, attain
ing length of some 80 to 100 feet.
This mammoth champion of the Polar
Ocean possesses immense strength, and
the whaler's ''tackle" must necessarily
be pretty solid. When killed the whale
sinks to the bottom, and the captor is
apt to lose his game. To prevent this
Mr.. Svend Foyn, the pioneer of the
whaling industry, has invented a new
harpoon whereto is affixed a self-explod-
ing bomb filled with a producing
composition. When the whale is har-
pooned the bomb buried in the flesh of
the animal explodes, and the gas pro-
duced permeating the veins and cavities
OF the Levlathan prevents him from
sinking.
How perilous and hazardous whaling
is, even with the most perfect of appli-
ances and weapons, is well illustrated
by the following narration related by an
eye witness:
cit was a June day, with rough
weather, rougher even than usual on
summer day at Vardo. The little feet
OF small, yet strong, whaling steamers
must try their luck, however, and off
they go IN the early morning, steering
to and fro, battling with the high sea.
To no avail. Not whale was to be
seen anywhere, and the sea increasing,
and the wind developing almost into
storm, they turned and steamed home
ward one after another, all but one He
must try little further. The waves
tossed the plucky craft like a shell; the
harpooner on watch must take care not
to be thrown headforemost into the
frothing waters. Yet no whale; nothing
to be seen or heard but the white noun
talns and dumb thunder of the rolling
waves and the shrill whining of the
storm through the steamer. The cap
tain at last found the search fruitless,
and turned homeward. The vessel
arriving at the mouth of the harbor, O
big whale shot up in front, almost
touching the bow of the steamer. The
harpooner, surprised at first, was, how
ever, up to his business. A flash,
roar, and in the very moment the har-
pooh was buried to the handle in the
big whale. But, strange, the bomb
didn't explode, and the animal, suffer-
ing intense agonies, shot out to sea,
towing the steamer after him. Against
the towering waves, against the raging
storm, the whaler went with lightning
speed, though its engine was reversed.
For eight miles the terrible race went
on, only the nlasts and the chimney of
the steamer in the meantime being
visible above the waters. The vessel
was strong, however, and the crew tried
men, who did not propose to let go.
''But what's that? A fishing boat
with its keel upmost, and two men
for life to the wreck! To cut
the line and save men was the harpoon-
er's first thought. Then we will lose
the whale, the line and the harpoon-
thousand of crowns worth-was his
second. 1t must soon be done, and in
a few minutes we can be back and save
the men, was his conclusion, and on the |
vessel went. Halo, there, what is up?
The line burst, the whale sank out of |
sight, the steamer tossing aimless on |
the rolling waves. There was nothing
more to do. The captive was free,
sinking slowly to the bottom to die. |
But two human lives were saved, and
the whalers considered themselves
richly rewarded for their terrible race
and the loss of their game as well.